Dirty test for pre enrollment to school

Welcome to the world of a "Professional Driver". No you don't have rights and to tell the truth most drivers will throw rocks at you too. What used to be a great industry is full of seat warmers and steering wheel holders. If you tested positive, you should have immediately demanded a blood test or another urine test if you know your are clean. If you're not, find another profession.

With all due respect, what you will find is we are held to a higher standard. We don't need folks that have trouble meeting that standard. It will apply to your drug test, driving record and somewhat to your criminal record. The other problems you speak of, we are all too well aware of, they have nothing to do with your situation.

Since you're new to the TTR Forum, I'll give my standard advice. Take it for what it's worth. Now here's my standard copy and paste advice. You need to research and find out what the important questions are. You can make an above average living but you will make sacrifices that other jobs don't require. I want new people entering to find out what's going on and make a plan.

Read the "good companies" and "bad companies" section on this forum and get an idea of what company you want to work for and what kind of trailer you want to pull. Don't just go to school and then try to figure out where to go.

You need to look at your driving record and criminal record. Many don't take this into consideration and find out they can't get a job after school. The school likely won't mention this because they want your money.

I don't know your financial situation. Don't take training from a company if you can afford it or get it with financial aid. You will be their slave for up to year. If you leave they will trash you DAC and credit record.

Just know that training and trucking company recruiters will do nothing but lie to you. They will let you talk about what you want and then tell you what you want to hear. Trucking is about moving freight to make money for the company. Your home time, family, paycheck and everything else comes second.

It is not like any other job. Local is usually backbreaking delivery work 10+ hours a day, 6 days a week. Often you unload dozens of times a day or you are a salesman. In my area most dump truck jobs pay less than a good factory job. Regional is lots of loading and unloading time, fewer miles than OTR and not as hard as local but will wear on you and push your HOS limits. OTR is out 3 - 5 weeks with 3 - 4 days home, less manual labor and more miles.

You'll probably have to pay your dues before you get the gravy job. Weekends off, if you are lucky enough to get something like that starting out, may be home Thursday afternoon and leave Saturday night or home Friday night and leave Sunday afternoon. Loads deliver on Monday early and you leave in time to get them there. Often your home time will be in the middle of the week.

Regardless of your driving choice, after school you will go through company training. This can be six weeks to three months with little or no home time. The first phase is usually $400 a week and the second phase is $500-550 a week. Some pay less. One company pays 12 CPM for training.

 

So...you think it's just great that another drug abuser enters the trucking industry ??? A year "clean"? yeah right... Glad drug screening is in place for everyone who wants to excuse their personal issues..

 

How do you know he's a drug abuser? Not that I support usage of drugs at all, but you don't know the persons life so why judge him/her? If your friend smoked weed after 30 years, wanted to try it for his first / last time, you say he is abusing it? This could be his predicament, you don't know. Stop judging people.

 

Uh..because he TESTED POSITIVE !! So why are YOU in such a hurry to EXCUSE people for their ACTIONS ?? Yes, I do judge..when I have to share a crowded highway with them. If more people were held accountable for their actions, perhaps trucking wouldn't be the cesspool for drug users, convicts and all the rest of societies bottom dwellers. Ever wonder why forums like this exist ? All this from a "student" who has never driven a truck .....

 

No, I haven't driven a truck.. I've unloaded plenty of them though. So it's not like I don't work around them all the time. Again though, you judge me for having Student tagged in my forum profile. Maybe I didn't update it? Maybe I have driven but your quick to judge me. I understand he tested positive, maybe he does abuse drugs, maybe he doesn't. I'm not judging him like you are.

If he does drugs, I agree with your 100% that he doesn't deserve to drive with the responsibility that pertains to it. But judging him instantly is ridiculous and uncalled for. He asked a question, some one gave him a answer. You then call that person who gave him the answer out, then turn around to judge some one you don't know.

A positive test is hard to disprove, and to the OP, if you do drugs then you don't deserve even the slightest chance of being allowed to drive a 18 wheeler.

 

Just so it is clear,,,,I don't agree.

 

I don't think anyone is judging anybody just stating the facts from what was posted. Like this:

The test don't lie. Sure there are RARE circumstances where maybe somebody messed up and the test is not true but those are few and far between. The test shows positive for a controlled substance.

Only addicts say things like this. At some point in his life he was using on a constant basis. Did he actually stop using drugs that I don't know but at some point and time he was addicted to them. Maybe he isn't now and just slipped up one time or maybe not.

If I was so certain I was clean I would have imediatly demanded another test or a blood test or even a hair test. Whatever it took that proved that I was clean. Instead he gives an excuse, "I didn't like that school anyway", what I read from that is they caught me time to move on see if I can find somebody who won't.

So now he is out there looking around for someone who will hire a drug addict. Not only is he asking if there is a school or company that will take him on but if he can continue to use and work. It's not his fault it's the schools fault for ruining his life and now he will go postal on them. We do have rights in this free country and one of them is my right to be protected from idiots like this. Do you really want someone like this driving an 80,000 pound 18 wheeler out on the higway?

 

That's correct...next question?